SYRIA: U.N. observers visit Kafr Takhareem in northern Idlib province where residents rush to tell them about alleged torture and killings by the authorities

Record ID: 280889

  • Title: SYRIA: U.N. observers visit Kafr Takhareem in northern Idlib province where residents rush to tell them about alleged torture and killings by the authorities
  • Date: 30th May 2012
  • Summary: KAFR TAKHAREEM, SYRIA (MAY 28, 2012) (REUTERS) U.N. VEHICLE PARKED IN TOWN VARIOUS OF U.N. OBSERVERS SURROUNDED BY ACTIVISTS
  • Embargoed: 14th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Syrian Arab Republic
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflict,International Relations,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA4D3N0INS3NX4R1FNLZQ0XLRNX
  • Story Text: U.N. observers visited the Syrian town of Kafr Takhareem on Monday (May 28).
    Footage obtained by Reuters shows town residents clustered around the U.N. observers to give their testimony about the practices of the Syrian authorities in the town.
    Observers are seen examining damaged buildings. Residents who say the were shot or tortured by security forces show scars on their bodies.
    One young man describes how a bullet went through his body and killed a man standing behind him.
    "I was hit by the bullet of a sniper during a protest. It hit me on the chest and pierced through my body before killing a man behind me."
    The UN mission has been criticised for its inability to protect civilians. 108 civilians, many of them children, were killed in Houla last week.
    International mediator Kofi Annan drew up a peace plan backed by the United Nations and the Arab League to steer a way out of the 14-month-old uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But six weeks after it was agreed by Damascus and the rebels, the bloodshed has barely slowed.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register